the naked face || bts

eighteen

'Slow down, slow down,' Jimin said hoarsely. 'I can't understand a word you're saying.'

'Sorry,' Yoongi said. He took a deep breath. 'I've got the answer!' He was so relieved to hear Jimin's voice over the phone that he was almost babbling. 'I know who's trying to kill me. I know who Don Vinton is.'

There was a skeptical note in Jimin's voice. 'We couldn't find any Don Vinton.'

'Do you know why? Because it isn't a him- it's a who.'

'Will you speak more slowly?'

Yoongi's voice was trembling with excitement. 'Don Vinton isn't a name. It's an Italian expression. It means "the big man". That's what Seokjin was trying to tell me. That 'The Big Man' was after me.'

'You lost me. Doctor.'

'It doesn't mean anything in English,' said Yoongi, 'but when you say it in Italian- doesn't it suggest anything to you? An organization of killers run by The Big Man?'

There was a long silence over the phone. 'La Cosa Nostra?'

'Who else could assemble a group of killers and weapons like that? Acid, bombs- guns...'

'It doesn't make sense. Why would La Cosa Nostra want to kill you?'

'I have absolutely no idea. But I'm right. I know I'm right. And it fits in with something Seokjin said. He said there was a group of men out to kill me.'

'It's the craziest theory I've ever heard,' Jimin said. There was a pause, then he added, 'But I suppose it could be possible.' Yoongi was flooded with sudden relief. If Jimin had not been willing to listen to him, he would have had no one to turn to. 'Have you discussed this with anyone?'

'No,' Yoongi said.

'Don't!' Jimin's voice was urgent. 'If you're right, your life depends on it. Don't go near your office or apartment.'

'I won't,' Yoongi promised. He suddenly remembered. 'Did you know Jungkook has a warrant out for my arrest?'

'Yes.' Jimin hesitated. 'If Jungkook picks you up, you'll never get to the station alive.' My God. So he had been right about Jungkook. But he could not believe that Jungkook was the brain behind this. There was someone directing him... Don Vinton. The Big Man.

'Can you hear me?'

Yoongi's mouth was suddenly dry. 'Yes.' A man in a grey overcoat stood outside the phone booth looking in at Yoongi. Was it the same man he had seen before? 'Jimin...'

'Yes?'

'I don't know who the others are. I don't know what they look like. How do I stay alive until they're caught?' The man outside the booth was staring at him.

Jimin's voice came over the line. 'We're going straight to the FBI. I have a friend who has connections. He'll see that you're protected until you're safe. Okay?' There was a note of assurance in Jimin's voice.

'Okay,' Yoongi said gratefully. His knees felt like jelly.

'Where are you?'

'In a phone booth in the lower lobby of the IA Building.'

'Don't move. Keep plenty of people around you. I'm on my way.' There was a click at the other end of the line as Jimin hung up.


.

He put the phone back on the squad-room desk, a sick feeling deep inside him. Over the years he had become accustomed to dealing with murderers, rapists, perverts of every description, and somehow, in time, a protective shell had formed, allowing him to go on believing in the basic dignity and humanity of man. But a rogue cop was something different. A rogue cop was a corruption that touched everyone on the force, that violated everything that decent cops fought and died for.

The squad room was filled with the passage of feet and the murmur of voices, but he heard none of it. Two uniformed patrolmen passed through the room with a giant drunk in handcuffs. One of the officers had a black eye and the other held a handkerchief to a bloody nose. The sleeve of his uniform had been ripped half off. The patrolman would have to pay for that himself. These men were ready to risk their lives every day and night of the year. But that wasn't what made headlines. A crooked cop made headlines. One crooked cop tainted them all. His own partner.

Wearily he got up and walked down the ancient corridor to the captain's office. He knocked once and went in. Behind a battered desk pocked with the lighted cigar butts of countless years sat Captain Kyungseok. Two FBI men were in the room, dressed in business suits. Captain Kyungseok looked up as the door opened. 'Well?'

The detective nodded. 'It checks out. The property custodian said he came in and borrowed Sang Ara's key from the evidence locker Wednesday afternoon and returned it late Wednesday night. That's why the paraffin test was negative- he got into Dr. Min's office by using an original key. The custodian never questioned it because he knew he was assigned to the case.'

'Do you know where he is now?' asked the younger of the FBI men.

'No. We had a tail on him, but he lost him. He could be anywhere.'

'He'll be hunting for the doctor,' said the second FBI agent. Captain Kyungseok turned to the FBI men. "What are the chances of Dr. Min staying alive?'

The man shook his head. 'If they find him before we do- none.'

Captain Kyungseok nodded. 'We've got to find him first.' His voice grew savage. 'I want Jimin brought back, too. I don't care how you get him.' He turned to the detective. 'Just get him, Jungkook.'

.

The police radio began to crackle out a staccato message: 'Code Ten... Code Ten... All cars... pick up five ...' Jimin switched the radio off. 'Anyone know I picked you up?' he asked.
 
'No one,' Yoongi assured him. 

'You haven't discussed La Cosa Nostra with anybody?' 

'Only you.' 

Jimin nodded, satisfied. Now, with him at his side, Yoongi no longer felt like the hunted. He was the hunter. And the thought filled him with deep satisfaction. 

At Jimin's suggestion, Yoongi had left his rented car near his office and was riding in Jimin's unmarked police car. They were approaching Old Tappan. 'It was smart of you to spot what was going on, Doctor,' Jimin said. 

Yoongi shook his head. 'I should have figured it out as soon as I knew there was more than one man involved. It had to be an organization using professional killers. I think Seokjin suspected the truth when he saw the bomb in my car. They had access to every kind of weapon.' And Hoseok. He was part of the operation, setting him up so that they could murder him. And yet- he couldn't hate him. No matter what he had done, he could never hate him. Jimin had turned off the main highway. He deftly tooled the car onto a secondary road that led towards a wooded area. 

'Does your friend know we're coming?', Yoongi asked. 

'I phoned him. He's all ready for you.' A side road appeared abruptly, and Jimin turned the car into it. He drove for a mile, then braked to a stop in front of an electric gate. Yoongi noticed a small television camera mounted above the gate. There was a click and the gate swung open, then closed solidly behind them. They began driving up a long, curving driveway. Through the trees ahead, Yoongi caught a glimpse of the sprawling roof of an enormous house. High on top, flashing in the sun, was a bronze rooster. Its tail was missing.